What Research, Data, and Resources Does PeopleForBikes Provide?

Updated

PeopleForBikes offers three main research and data resources: a Research + Data library of academic research and reports on bike-industry topics, a Resource Marketplace described as the bicycle industry's leading authority on market intelligence, and the Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA), which measures how easy it is to get around by bicycle in U.S. cities and includes a comprehensive inventory of U.S. bike infrastructure. These sit alongside the organization's City Ratings program, which scores more than 3,000 U.S. and international cities from 0 to 100 on the quality and connectivity of their bike networks. All of these are informational resources; the site does not state pricing or access requirements for them.

Research + Data

This section collects academic research and reports focused on specific topics affecting the bike industry. It is the place to start if you want evidence-based material rather than news or advocacy content — for example, if you are preparing a local case for bike infrastructure and need studies on outcomes, or you work in the industry and want to track what the research literature says about a particular topic.

Resource Marketplace

The Resource Marketplace is positioned as the bicycle industry's leading authority on market intelligence. In practice, this is the section to browse if your question is about the market — industry data, business-facing resources, and similar material — rather than about riders or infrastructure. The site presents it as a distinct destination ("Browse Resources") separate from the research library.

Bicycle Network Analysis and Infrastructure Inventory

The BNA measures how easy it is to get around by bicycle in cities nationwide and includes a comprehensive inventory of U.S. bike infrastructure. Two things make it useful:

  • A connectivity measure — it evaluates how well a city's network actually lets you travel by bike, not just how many miles of bike lanes exist.
  • An inventory — it catalogs U.S. bike infrastructure, so you can check what is recorded for a given place.

If you want to know how your own city compares, the related City Ratings program publishes 0–100 scores and tracks cities' progress over time; the site directs visitors to look up their city's score.

How the Pieces Fit Together

Resource What it answers Best for
Research + Data What does the research say about a bike-industry topic? Planners, advocates, industry readers
Resource Marketplace What does the market look like? Industry and business users
Bicycle Network Analysis How easy is it to bike around a given city, and what infrastructure exists? Comparing places, local assessment
City Ratings How does my city score, and is it improving? Quick city-level check

These resources support the organization's three stated pillars — Infrastructure, Policy, and Participation — which frame its work toward making the U.S. the best place in the world to ride a bike. For a specific task, start with the question you need answered: a literature question goes to Research + Data, a market question to the Resource Marketplace, and a place-based question to the BNA or City Ratings.